"Aristocratic families?" Qiao Xiaomai looked puzzled.
Knowing that she was not a local, Tong Sanlang explained, "In the past, the way officials were selected was through recommendation. It's when officials choose talented individuals from the areas they govern and report them to the court."
"In the beginning, this method was quite effective and recommended many talented people to the court. But as time passed, and the court became corrupt and the Emperor inept, officials began to recommend their own relatives. With relative after relative being recommended, whole families full of officials began to expand. Their family members would hold office generation after generation, these are what we refer to as aristocratic families."
"Being powerful aristocratic families, they filled the court with their own people and the Emperor was constantly constrained in his actions. That's when the Imperial Examination emerged."
